Panic attacks 20 weeks pregnant

Hi everyone, I am 20 weeks pregnant and have had anxiety and panic disorder prior to getting pregnant. I dont take meds since side effects scare me, and basically ride out the attacks. being pregnant I find myself more anxious. Today I had two panic attacks, both upon waking up from sleep. I felt like I was gonna die and just cried. I cried more thinking my panic attacks are harming my baby.

My midwife knows I have panic disorder, but hasn't told me to take meds, and I really don't want to.

Does panic hurt the baby? How can I control it during pregnancy? Anyone else had panic disorder while pregnant?

What sucks for me is my husband doesn't understand it, so I don't feel like I have the support I need from him.

Comments (7)

I'm sorry your panic attacks have gotten worse. Normally you can manage them but with the pregnancy it's worse.

Does anxiety and panic hurt the baby? Or how about meds, do they hurt the baby?

What the research says is that the best thing for baby is a mom/2b who is free of depression/anxiety/panic. And if that mean taking meds to achieve that, so be it. This is where weighing the pros and cons of the particular mom and baby goes.

Apparently cortisol and adrenalyn have the potential to set baby up for anxiety,difficult to settle, possible attention issues (ADHD in boys), and other short and long term effects. I'm not sure this is what you were looking for, but it's what is known today. I Googled "how does anxiety impact a growing fetus?" if you want to read further.

Actually I am struggling myself with anxiety. I struggled for a month & then brokedown & got into my OB for medication. I made the decision for myself because I felt there was no way it could be good for the baby to be under that kind of constant stress. I am about 9 wks now. So I have a LONG way to go. I'm trying Buspar which is a careerist B drug & the most safe during pregnancy. Yes there is a risk with everything but i can't continue to go the route I've been on. Prior to pregnancy I was on klonopin for the last few months & obviously that is a cat. D drug so it's not as safe so I'm staying clear from that. I also see a therapist, I think that's very important whether you get meds or not, it can help. I wish you good luck & just know that you aren't alone. I'm here to talk if you need.

You could try taking extra Omega 3's. Fish oil did wonders for my anxiety while I wasn't preggo. (google fish oil and anxiety/depression) But I found once I started my prenatals the anxiety and obsessive thoughts came back. Even tho my prenatals have dha it wasn't nearly as much as I was taking before. So I bought a high quality fish oil and take 1 everyday with my prenatal. I'm feeling much better.

My prenatal has 750mg of dha from algae. I add 1 1000mg dha/epa by Nordic naturals. You can find that brand at walgreens. Or whatever you have in your cabinet should be fine. I've done a ton of research and while buying a high quality one is best, generic ones are purified well also. Just don't take cod liver oil. You really cannot overdose on fish oil. It's when you get up to taking 4000+ mg a day where a high quality one would pose less mercury risk. I'm no doctor but this is my research and I stand by my decision to add fish oil to my daily routine.

That's awesome! I read up on it & I'm a believer. Over this last year I went vegan & then in Feb I had a big breakdown with my anxiety & I've been reading up on the amino acids & now your fish oil stuff& I think I may have caused this problem by not having any meat or fish in my diet, especially if I was already low on any of this stuff. I got some fish oil & I got prenatals that have a dha in them too. Thanks again for the great info! I'm hoping this gets me thru this pregnancy!